Fly-killer.



0. H. PORTER.

FLY KILLER.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 4,1909.

975,570. Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

1 2a: lyrwiisrberlfolcn FLY-KILLER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CYRUS HERBERT POR- ran, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Mattapoisett, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fly-Killers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a device for killing flies and has for its object the production of such a device which is composed of a plurality of flexible members such as strips of reed or similar fibrous material, all of these parts being yieldingly connected together so that when in use the fly struck thereby will be killed without being crushed and thus spot the walls or other articles on which it might be at the time.

One of the principal obj ects of the invention is to provide a device of this kind which would be sufiiciently soft and yielding to prevent injury to the furniture or other articles which might be struck thereby. Heretofore articles of this class have been usu ally constructed of wire and when used are liable to scratch and injure the furniture or they have been so unyielding as to crush the fly when struck and cause the wall paper or other article on which the fly might be located to be stained.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this class which will be sufficiently open that when the blow is struck the air will pass therethrough thus preventing the rush of air against the fly, giving him warning before the impact is made.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be readily understood by reference to the description of the drawings and to the claims hereinafter given.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 represents an elevation of a fly killer embodying the features of the present invention. Fig. 2 represents a section through the striking end thereof, the cutting plane being on line 2-2 on Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 represents a detail of a portion of the handle showing the binding member in section and representing the means of connecting the ends of the frame.

In the drawings, 10 represents a strip of fibrous material preferably round, which has Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 4, 1909.

Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

Serial No. 526,480.

formed at one end a loop 11 while at the opposite end is a smaller loop 12 forming the outer end of the handle. The ends 13 and 1a of this strip are slabbed off and overlapped as indicated in Fig. 3 and then connected together and to another portion of said strip 10 by means of a plurality of rivets 15. The overlapped ends 13 and 14k and the parallel member of said strip 10 are wound with a binding member 16 the edges of which contact with each other over said joint to make this portion of the handle thus formed perfectly rigid, this binding strip being more loosely wound as indicated at 17 from said joint to a point near the commencement of the loop 11 where it is again closely wound, as indicated at 18, and the end secured in position. By this construction a flexible frame is secured with a loop at one end and a suitable handle portion at the other end, the smaller loop 12 forming part of the handle serving to prevent the hand from slipping therefrom. \Vhile the binding material 16, 17 and 18 serves to connect the two parallel portions of the strip 10 together to give the handle sufficient rigidity, it also presents an uneven surface on the handle which serves to give the operator a firmer grip thereon.

\Vithin the loop 11 is positioned a spiral member 19 of wood or some other soft flexible material preferably of lesser diameter than the diameter of the strip 10 forming the framework. In the center of this spiral 19 is preferably positioned a disk 20 of leather or some similar flexible material. The spiral member 19 and the disk 20 when thus positioned are retained in such position by means of a plurality of threads or cords 21 interwoven with the various spirals of the member 19 and stitched through the disk 20, the ends of said threads or cords being secured to the strip 10 in any suitable manner. These threads 21 retain the spirals of the member 19 separated as indicated in the drawings and retain them permanently in position while at the same time they permit the spiral to yield under pressure. By such a construction of fly killer as is herein indicated, when a blow is aimed at the fly the air will pass through the openings between the various spirals and thus avoid warning the fly of the intended blow to be struck. Upon impact with the fly the flexibility of the spiral member 19 and the securing means such as the threads 21 will permit the striking portion of the device to yield sufficiently so that the crushing of the fly will be prevented although the blow will be sufficient to kill him. By this means the stainin of the wall or ceiling on which the fly might be located at the time the operation takes place is entirely obviated.

In the construction of the device the framework is first made in the manner heretofore described and then the loop 11 is positioned within a suitable form which also is provided with grooves in which the spiral member 19 may be positioned within said loop, means also being provided in the form for retaining the central disk 20 in position. lVhile these various parts are thus positioned within the form they may be passed beneath the needle of a sewin machine and a row of stitches formed diametrically of said spiral, the loops of said stitches being formed between the various spirals of the member 19, thus retaining these spirals in separated position.

Subsequently the ends of the threads 20 will be permanently secured to the framework of the loop 11. This provides a very compact device, especially adapted for the use for which it is intended and it is quite obvious that as constructed it will accomplish its purpose effectually without endangering the articles with which it comes into contact either by ma'rring or scratching the same 011 impact or by crushing the fly which is struck so as to stain the article on which it may be.

It is believed that the construction and many advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the foregoing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a frame, a flexible member confined within one end of said frame and so bent that portions of it are parallel, and means extending from one portion of said frame to a diametrically opposite portion thereof for retaining said parallel portions separated and securing them to said frame, said means surrounding and being connected together between said parallel portions of said flexible member.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a frame, a flexible member confined within one end of said frame and so bent that portions of it are parallel, and a pl'urality of threads surrounding said portions of the flexible member and secured to diametrically opposed portions of said frame for retaining said member in position, said threads being connected between the various parallel portions of said flexible member.

3. A device of the class described, comprising a frame separated at one end to form a loop and secured together atfhe opposite end to form a handle, a flexible spiral within said loop, and members secured to diametrically opposed portions of said loop and surrounding alined portions of said spiral member to secure it to said frame, said members being connected together between such alined portions of said spiral member.

4. A device of the class described, comprising a frame separated at one end to form a loop and secured together at the opposite end to form a handle, a flexible spiral mem ber of fibrous material within said loop, and members secured to diametrically opposed portions of said loop and surrounding alined portions of said spiral member to secure it to said frame, said members being connected together between such alined portions of said spiral member.

5. A device of the class described, comprising a frame separated at one end to form a loop secured together at the opposite end to form a handle, a flexible spiral member within said loop, a plurality of threads extending diametrically of said spiral member and interwoven therewith and secured to the frame, and a disk of flexible material centrally disposed within said spiral.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a frame separated at one end to form a loop secured together at the opposite end to form a handle, a flexible spiral member within said loop, a plurality of threads extending diametrically of said spiral member and interwoven therewith and secured to the frame, and a leather disk centrally disposed within said spiral.

7. A device of the class described, comprising a frame composed of a strip of flexible material separated at one end to form a loop and having its ends overlapped, a binding member surrounding said overlapped ends and securing them to another portion of said strip to form a handle, a spiral member of flexible material positioned within said loop, and means for securing said spiral member to said frame.

8. A device of the class described, comprising a frame composed of a strip of flexible material separated at one end to form a loop and having its ends overlapped, a binding member surrounding said overlapped ends and securing them to another portion of said strip to form a handle, a spiral member of flexible material positioned within said loop, a disk positioned in the center of said spiral and means for securing said spiral member and disk to said frame.

7 9. In a device of the class described, comprising a frame composed of a strip of flexible material separated at one end to form a loop and having its ends overlapped, a bind- Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this 27th day of October, 1909.

CYRUS HERBERT PORTER.

Witnesses WALTER E. LOMBARD, NATHAN C. LOMBARD.

ing member surrounding said overlapped ends and securing them to another portion of said strip to form a handle, rivets extending through said ends to secure them together a spiral member of flexible material positioned Within said 100p and means for securing said spiral member to said frame. i 

